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If it were true that the Father is the only true God, why then did Jesus declare in John 10:34-35 "God said you are gods"? Doesn't this mean that there exist other gods aside from the Father?
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"God said, 'You are gods'"
(John 10:34-35)


Letter to the Editor:
GOD'S MESSAGE, June 2007, p.4

I UNDERSTAND THAT in the Church of Christ you believe that the Father is the "only" true God (emphasis on the word "only"). You publicly declare this in your sermons, magazines, and even  in  your television programs. If it were true that the Father is the only true God, why then did Jesus declare in John 10:34-35 (Good News Bible), "God said you are gods"? Doesn't this mean that there exist other gods aside from the Father?

Ralph Cyril Quevedo
Stockton, California, U.S.A.

 

Editor's reply:

     To answer your question, let us first quote in full John 10:34-35 from the Today’s English Version, otherwise known as the Good News Bible:

     “Jesus answered, ‘It is written in your own Law that God said, “You are gods”. We know that what the scripture says is true forever; and God called those people gods, the people to whom his message was given.”

     This pronouncement that was made by our Lord Jesus Christ before the Pharisees who questioned His words is an allusion to some verses in the Old Testament, Psalm 82:1 and 6, which reads:

     “God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. … I said, ‘You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High’.” (New King James Version)

     The word “gods” in these verses was used metaphorically of those whom God had placed as judges in the nation of ancient Israel. This is similar to what is written in Exodus 21:6. The Amplified Bible renders it, thus:

     “Then his master shall bring him to God [the judges as His agents]; he shall bring him to the door or doorpost and shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him for life.”

     Another proof that those referred to as “gods” in Psalms 82:1 and 6 are not of the same nature as the God Almighty is that they were to die like “mere men”:

     “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? ...    “But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler.” (Ps. 82:2, 7, New International Version)

     Going back to John 10:34-35, our Lord Jesus Christ alluded to Psalms 82:1 and 6 in order to stress a point to the Pharisees who took offense at His statement that He is the Son of God. In the succeeding verse, John 10:36, Christ was pointing out to His detractors that if they were to accept that those from whom God’s word came are called “gods,” then why should they accuse Christ of blaspheming when He introduced Himself as the Son of God:

     “As for me, the Father chose me and sent me into the world. How, then, can you say that I blaspheme because I said that I am the Son of God?” (TEV)

     But, even as there really are “so-called gods” as mentioned in the Bible, this should not lead us to believe in and worship other gods aside from the only true God, the Father, as stated by Apostle Paul:

     “Even if there are so-called ‘gods’, whether in heaven or on earth, and even though there are many of these ‘gods’ and ‘lords’, yet there is for us only one God, the Father, who is the Creator of all things and for whom we live …” (I Cor. 8:5-6, Ibid.)

     The belief that there is more than one true God other than the Father is erroneous and is biblically untenable. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself made it quite clear when He declared that the Father is the only true God:

     “After Jesus finished saying this, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your Son, so that the Son may give glory to you. … And eternal life means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent’.” (John 17:1, 3, Ibid.)

     It is very important for one to have the right knowledge about God. According to Jesus Christ, to know and believe that the Father is the only true God and to know Jesus Christ whom He sent is to gain eternal life.                  

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Bible Study Suggestion: If you have further questions, please feel free to visit the Iglesia ni Cristo congregation nearest you. A minister or an evangelical worker would be happy to answer any biblical question you have in mind.

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